by Brandon Renner 

Just ask any Austinite what they love about Austin, and you’ll get a variety of responses.  Some might tell you about all the fine dining.  Others might expound on all the nightclubs and bars.  But one thing that hardly anyone will cite is our wonderful summer weather.  Why?  Because during the summer, there are two elements to the Austin climate: hot and wet.  Hot means three-digit temperatures are not out of the ordinary.  Wet means that if the relative humidity were any higher, we’d be under water.  And most of the time, it’s both hot and wet.

During the spring we often have a cool breeze that makes the shade bearable, and during the fall the (relatively) cool evenings make the perfect time for a swim.  But in the dead heat of summer, the pools often reach mid-nineties, and the shade offers no help either.  So what can a person do to get away from all the heat?  Why, go underground of course! …  No, no, put away the shovels, there’s likely more limestone than dirt under your feet.  Besides, good ol’ Mother Nature has already done the work for us. The area around Austin is dotted with naturally formed caverns, like Natural Bridge Caverns, Longhorn Caverns, Innerspace Caverns and more.  Formed over millions of years by rivers, run-off, and other natural forces, these caverns offer snapshots of history in the making.

The largest, with over three miles of explored caverns – and that’s just what they’ll show you on the tour – is Natural Bridge Caverns (see above, left), just a little over an hour southwest of Austin off of Interstate 35.  Discovered almost 50 years ago by four students of St. Mary’s University, Natural Bridge was named for an expanse of limestone that formed naturally when stone below it caved into a sinkhole.  When these caverns were discovered, there was evidence – including arrow- and spearheads – that humans had inhabited the cave approximately 5000 years ago.  The students, along with the landowner, also found remains of a species of bear that became extinct over 8000 years ago.  Experts speculate that the formation of these caverns was set in motion by the shifting of rock due to activity on the Balcones fault line.

About half the distance in the opposite direction of Natural Bridge, you can do some amateur cave exploration – guided, of course – at Innerspace Caverns just outside of Georgetown.  Estimated to be almost 100 million years old, these, caverns were formed by the dissolution of limestone in water and were discovered by the Texas Highway Department during test drilling while building I-35.

For a longer trip that is well worth the drive visit the Caverns of Sonora (see below), outside of Sonora, TX.  Here you can see the famous “Butterfly” formation – two cave formations that have grown from the same base into the shape of a butterfly – as well as some of the most intriguing rocks around.

All in all, any of these caverns will provide a fantastic day trip for the whole family and give a vibrant portrait of Mother Nature’s creative side.